1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tattoo guns, and more particularly, to tattoo gun spring tensioning.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several designs for tattoo guns have been designed in the past. None of them, however, includes a means to selectively tune the tension on the spring without bending the spring itself and without affecting the depth of the needle stroke.
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,659 issued to Nightingale on Jul. 3, 1979. However, it differs from the present invention because the present invention allows a user to adjust the tension on the spring without bending the spring or affecting the depth of the needle stroke. Nightingale does have some adjustability but only on the rear spring and not on the front spring as is critical in the present invention.
The Nightingale device, as in all known prior art, requires adjusting the bend in the spring to adjust tension which leads to imprecise results and metal fatigue which results in the spring losing its tune and ultimately spring failure. The Nightingale device also does not permit precise, consistent and long lasting tuning to the spring whereas the present invention allows a user of the device to easily and consistently properly tune the tension on the spring.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.